


Into the Ocean

by psychosocial_ish



Category: Ghost Adventures (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Gen, Suicidal Thoughts, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 13:37:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10663731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychosocial_ish/pseuds/psychosocial_ish
Summary: Sometimes good friends are really all you need.Based off the song "Into the Ocean" by Blue October.





	Into the Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you guys like this. I know it's been a really long time since I posted anything, but I've finally found some time to start writing and posting again! Leave comments or kudos if you enjoyed!

A haunted cruise. Zak always came up with the strangest, but most interesting ideas. Aaron and Nick were both a bit reluctant to investigate an operating cruise ship, what with all the tourists that will probably make noise, but they were assured that they were investigating the engine rooms and cargo hold, where no tourists would be walking around. Only the workers were allowed in these parts of the boat, and the investigation would be occurring while the ship was in port.  
The drive to Boston was a short one, since they were still in Sudbury from the previous investigation. For some reason, everyone, even Zak, was feeling uneasy regarding this investigation. Nick suggested that perhaps they had forgotten something. “No,” Aaron responded, “I double and triple checked. Everything is here.” Silenced, Nick simply stared out the window, with Aaron laying back in the back seat, and Zak continued driving.  
“Come on, guys,” Zak said, trying his best to stifle his own anxiety, “We’re gonna be fine. If people go on this cruise all the time and don’t get hurt, we’re gonna be fine.” He smiled, looking towards Nick, hoping to be met with the same enthusiasm even if it was fake. But all he saw was Nick looking out the window still, so he checked on Aaron in the rear-view mirror, but found that he was taking a nap, which is how the older man usually calmed himself. So Zak sighed, and continued the drive to the harbour.  
Meanwhile, Aaron was dreaming....  
_He dreamt about the cruise. Beautiful women everywhere they went, sunbathing in their itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, yellow polkadot bikinis, sipping martinis. Kids playing in the shallow swimming pools. Men sitting at the bar in Hawaiian shirts and khaki shorts with tennis shoes. And then there was the three of them, walking around in all black, getting strange looks from everyone as they passed by._  
_Aaron turned his head, as he felt something particularly disturbing, and met the gaze of one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. She smiled at him, and as he smiled back with a slight grimace, her face contorted, turning sickly and grey, cracking as if she was a porcelain doll. Her eyes turned black as coal, and her teeth were like those of a snake. She hissed, “You’ll die here.”_  
The bearded man woke with a whimper, his hands moving to cover his face protectively. He felt as if he was going to cry, breathing heavily, shaking...  
“You okay, man?” Nick asked from the front seat. He had turned around to check on Aaron.  
Closing his eyes, the older man ran his palm across his face, sighing as he tried to regain his composure. “Yeah,” he breathed, “Just a weird dream.”  
“We’re almost there,” Zak interrupted, “Just a few more minutes. Try to stay awake.”  
Aaron nodded. “Yeah…” He shook his head as if to shake the image from the dream out of his head.  
The rest of the ride was silent, but in their heads, all three men were nearly screaming. The foreboding feeling in the car was overwhelming. However, Zak was able to transfer all of his anxieties into his excitement about being able to investigate on a cruise. How he was able to convince the executives to let him book this cruise he’d never know, but he was sure glad that he did, even if he got an awful feeling about it.  
Nick looked back at Aaron and found him looking out a window, one hand clutching his cross desperately as he mouthed what seemed to be “Hail Mary.” He was worried beyond belief about him. He was already having bad dreams and the investigation hadn’t even started yet. How was he going to be able to get through the night?  
But just as suddenly as they were leaving the town of Sudbury, they were at Boston Harbor. Nick and Aaron hadn’t even realized that they had driven through the city already. Zak was too busy himself following street signs and listening to the GPS mounted on the dashboard to know what was going on either. But they were there. The captain was waving to them as they pulled in to park. There was no turning back.

_**Let the hurricane set in motion…** _

Zak was the first one to get out and shake the captain’s hand, while Nick and Aaron stayed back to get the cameras rolling and take the suitcases onboard. Zak spoke. “It’s great to meet you, Captain.”  
Nick and Aaron took their places, one of them behind Zak and one behind the captain.  
“You as well, son,” he said, “You can call me Captain Tom.”  
The captain had a strong accent that sounded like he was from around the Cape. His voice was enthusiastic and boomed with a genuine heartiness. His skin was dark, tanned from years spent on the water, with pure white, voluminous hair underneath his white and navy blue hat, and a mustache to match.  
Zak nodded in acknowledgement of the hat. “Looks authentic, huh?”  
Captain Tom looked up at the black brim. “Oh, this old thing?” He took it off and put it on Zak’s head, all four men laughing. “From my Navy days. Ya look great in it!”  
Zak turned to Nick’s camera. “I already feel like an old salt,” he said, which made the other three laugh more.  
It seemed that Nick and Aaron were beginning to calm down already. The captain had a way about himself, his gait, his poise, his easy-going attitude, all of it started to relax them.  
“So can you give us a little tour, Captain?” Aaron asked.  
Captain Tom turned and smiled, flashing teeth almost as white as his hair and the mustache just above them. “Of course! Come on, I’ll show ya ‘round!”  
The three men began to follow, and as soon as they set foot on the deck they shivered. Something definitely wasn’t right. The Captain seemed to notice their uneasiness and joked, “Still got land-legs, eh?”  
The crew laughed awkwardly, not knowing what to say. “I guess,” Zak answered.  
Captain Tom waved it away. “Don’t you guys worry, you’ll get your sea-legs in no time on my ship.”  
“What is the name of the ship again?” Nick asked.  
“This is the _Apollonia_.”  
“ _Apollonia_...” Zak repeated, “That’s beautiful.”  
“Ain’t she?” Captain Tom replied, taking in every inch of the deck below their feet.  
Nick interjected, “I just gotta say, the three of us all felt something weird as soon as we stepped onto the ship.”  
The Captain nodded. “Yeah, we get a lot of people saying the same thing.”  
The three men began to laugh awkwardly. “And you’re okay with that? It happens _that_ often?” Aaron asked.  
“Yeah,” Captain Tom laughed, “It really does happen that often. We usually have at least one out of every ten people who say they feel strange when they board.”  
Zak interjected, “And I’m sure there’s an explanation why that we’re going to learn about as we get our tour.”  
“Of course! Why don’t we get started?”  
“Fine by us,” Nick said as he shrugged, looking between Aaron and Zak.  
“We’re gonna start right over here at the opposite end of the deck, down at the stern.” Captain Tom said, motioning for the others to follow.  
“And has anything specific happened at the stern?” Zak asked.  
“Yes, a few things,” the Captain said as they continued walking, “I’ll show you exactly where they happened.”  
Aaron couldn’t help but notice how his dream was strangely beginning to come true. Women sipping their drinks sitting in their bikinis. Men in polo shirts and tennis shoes. Kids playing in the shallow pools. It was starting to creep him out, and he noticed that Nick and Zak seemed to be affected by their surroundings. They stuck out like sore thumbs among these sort of people. They were three random tall, buff guys wearing tight black shirts with baggy pants and designer sneakers with cameras, and most of these women were probably hoping to sneak themselves into a shot.  
They finally reached the stern of the ship after what seemed like a five-mile walk, and Captain Tom began explaining what had occurred.  
“So about four years ago, right where I’m standing, a woman killed herself by jumping into the water.”  
Zak sighed, shaking his head. Suicides were something he was especially sensitive about. He felt awful.  
The Captain went on, “She apparently had gotten into a fight with her husband. It was said that he had had an affair with another woman and the wife walked in while they were… doing the hanky-panky.”  
Aaron looked into Nick’s camera, trying to diffuse the situation with a funny face.  
“But the worst part of this was that her body ended up getting all mangled up in the dual fan motors.”  
“Oh my God…” Zak said, putting a hand over his mouth, “That’s horrible.” He looked into Aaron’s camera for a split second before continuing. “So she’s gotta be here still. I mean, I can imagine that she would become attached to this boat. She must have left such a footprint, with all that traumatic and emotional energy.”  
“I don’t doubt it. People have seen her walking around in a blue, flowing dress.”  
“Do you think we’ll see her tonight?” Zak asked with a smile.  
“Maybe. She doesn’t show up too often, but when she does, you’ll smell it in the wind.”  
“‘In the wind?’ What do you mean ‘in the wind?’” The raven haired man’s eyes widened.  
“You can smell something sour-sweet, almost like soy sauce.” When Zak gave him a strange look, the Captain laughed and continued, “Nobody knows why! They just say they smelled soy sauce or something sour-sweet.”  
Aaron laughed awkwardly and looked into Nick’s camera, “Like the ‘sour-sweet Grinch Night wind.’”  
Nick and Zak both gave him strange looks, though they both knew what he was talking about. They all had seen that cartoon as children. “Aaron,” Zak said, laughing, “Only like a handful of people will know what you’re talking about, dude.”  
“Well they’re awesome then!” Aaron responded, laughing.  
Zak turned back to the Captain, who also had found some amusement in Aaron’s comment and was now laughing to himself quietly. “Has anything else happened here?”  
“Well, almost anyone who stands near this spot while the sour-sweet smell is in the wind says they have an overwhelming sadness,” Captain Tom explained, “A few years ago, a girl actually was sobbing and screaming that she was going to jump and kill herself.”  
“Do you think maybe the spirit of this woman had anything to do with this?” Zak asked.  
“Possibly,” said the Captain, shrugging, “I don’t personally believe in ghosts, but I’m a man of God and I believe that there are entities that can affect us.”  
“Well, that’s good enough for us, Captain,” Zak said, clapping his hand on the man’s shoulder, “Do you happen to know the name of the woman who had originally committed suicide?”  
“Charlotte.”  
“Charlotte…” Zak repeated. He looked down at the ground and began to address the spirit directly, “Charlotte, we know what happened to you, and we feel absolutely horrible about it. But we want you to find peace, and we want to help. So tonight, if you let us, we can try to help you find some peace.”  
Nick and Aaron both looked down respectfully, in case this woman was present with them.  
But once they looked back up, they saw that the Captain was in tears. “Are you okay, Captain?” Zak asked, brows furrowing as he put a hand on Captain Tom’s shoulder.  
“I don’t know,” he said, “I just feel so awful about this woman.” He sniffled, wiping his at his eyes with the back of his hand. “I just hope you guys can bring her some peace if she really is here.”  
“So do we,” Zak said softly, nodding. 

_**I’m sinking to the bottom of my everything that freaks me out…** _

Aaron began setting up the X-Camera on the deck where the woman had jumped and found that he was feeling an overwhelming anxiety building in his gut, as if he was going to have a panic attack and throw up. He looked around him and found that he was alone at the stern of the ship. Zak and Nick were talking with a few of the other guests aboard the vessel. He guessed that they were fans of the show. Desperately wanting some contact with his friends and crew members, Aaron decided to join them, trying to put on a happy face.  
Nick could automatically feel the tenseness and anxiety radiating from the older man and put a comforting hand on his back and looked into his eyes with a smile. His smile was returned, almost as though it was reassuring him as if to say, “Don’t worry, it’ll pass.” Nonetheless, Nick was still worried for him.  
Zak could also feel Aaron’s emotions intensely. Being that he was an empath and Aaron was very open about his emotions, it wasn’t too hard for Zak to know when something was wrong, so he asked him, “Are you alright?”  
“Yeah,” said Aaron, shrugging it off, “I’m fine.”  
“Okay,” Zak answered slowly, really wanting to ask if Aaron was completely sure that he was alright.  
But Aaron wasn’t alright. He was freaking out inside and had no clue why. He never had anxiety problems, so it must have been the energy around him. It was so dark and depressing, and Aaron, with his natural happy-go-lucky attitude, was not used to this certain thing on a cruise ship. Water was somewhere he had always felt natural, but this ship was an extreme contradiction. He should have felt happy. This wasn’t some abandoned insane asylum or prison. This was a cruise ship, somewhere to try to enjoy himself, especially on the deck. Down below, in the bowels of the ship, _that’s_ where he should be feeling the negative energy, where it was natural to feel the negative energy. His mind began to race a million miles a minute and he shook his head, excusing himself to go to the restroom.  
Nick and Zak looked after him, following him with their eyes to make sure that he was okay to make it to the bathroom on his own.  
Aaron slammed the door behind him as he entered the men’s room, finding that he wasn’t alone. He was met with curious stares from the men who were already there, either washing their hands or using the urinals. Aaron could feel the intensity in their stares and felt himself on the verge of a panic attack. He ran into the nearest empty stall and slammed the door shut.

_**Let the rain come down…** _

Letting his forehead meet the cold metal door, Aaron let silent tears fall, his body shaking uncontrollably. He felt as if his whole world was about to tumble down. He was losing everyone. Zak, Nick, his family, his friends… Everyone was going to leave him. No one cared. No one loved him.  
_No… It’s not true. It’s not! It’s this fucking boat!_ he screamed in his mind, _Snap out of it, Aaron! Snap the fuck out of it!_  
He knew this wasn’t true in his right mind. None of it was. He shook his head, wiped his eyes, and took a deep, but shaky, breath. He had to calm himself. The lockdown would be starting in a very short while, and he had to be there. He had no choice… He had to be there.  
He waited until it sounded like he was alone in the bathroom before he stepped out, only to find that Zak and Nick were standing in a corner by the paper towel dispenser. When they saw him they immediately stopped talking and went to him.  
“Are you alright, dude?” Zak asked.  
Aaron scoffed. “Yeah, why? Just had to take a mondo duke.” He walked to the sink and washed his hands, splashing some water on his face and rubbing his eyes especially to make it look like the redness wasn’t from crying.  
“Aaron,” Nick said, “We know you aren’t okay.”  
Aaron turned to grab paper towels, drying his face and hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’m fine!” he said, laughing.  
“Do you think Charlotte’s affecting you?” Nick asked.  
“Ain’t no sour-sweet wind, ain’t no Charlotte. I’m _fine_.” Aaron said, walking in between the two younger men and opening the door. “Are you guys ready? We gotta set up the rest of the shit.”

_**I’m reaching for the life within me…** _

Because Aaron insisted that he was fine, he was assigned to investigate the deck, while Nick and Zak would be investigating different levels within the bowels of the ship. Every guest was sent to their rooms as soon as the sun set over the horizon, all the cameras were set up, and the guys were in place. The _Apollonia_ was officially locked down.  
But in reality, Zak and Nick were so worried about him that they decided to leave some digital recorders running with the cameras while they spied on Aaron from inside the control room. Because every light was out except for Aaron’s camera and the light from the stars and moon—which made everything quite eerie—they weren’t worried about being noticed. They were crouched behind the glass windshield, observing everything, hearing everything.  
Aaron stood for a few minutes, letting himself settle into the surroundings. He was wearing a sweater and a jacket to combat the cold. He felt the anxiety bubbling up again and decided to just take a whiff of the wind to humour himself, but his stomach dropped through the floor and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when he smelled the sour-sweet in the wind.  
He spoke into the camera, “The sour-sweet smell is in the wind… Holy shit… I didn’t even think the Captain was serious about this… I’m feeling all this anxiety and now this wind…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his recorder. “I’m gonna roll on the digital recorder and see if I can make contact with Charlotte.”  
Pressing a button, Aaron began… “This is Aaron, on the deck, at the stern of the _Apollonia_... Charlotte, I’m sorry about what happened to you. Can you please talk to me and let me try to help you?” He stayed silent, looking around to see if there was any apparitions walking about, which he doubted would happen, but there was no shame in trying.  
Then he felt himself leaving his body. He wasn’t there anymore. The anxiety was consuming him. He turned off the recorder. 

_**The lighthouse beam has just run out…** _

“There’s nothing anymore… No one,” he said.  
“What the fuck is he doing?” Nick asked, looking at Zak, who he found to be just as frightened and shocked as he was.  
Aaron turned and looked down into the water. “I bet it’s even colder than the wind…” he said quietly, beginning to take off his jacket. Tears began to run down his cheeks as he let the jacket fall to the wooden floor of the deck.  
“We need to stop him!” Nick whispered harshly, moving to stand.  
Zak grabbed at his arm to stop him. “No, wait a second. He’s strong. He can fight this, I know it.”  
Aaron looked up at the sky, tears still falling from his eyes. His mind was screaming left and right, one side telling him to fight, the other telling him to jump and give up… And the latter was too strong. He closed his eyes and held his arms open.

_**Let the waves up and take me down…** _

“Aaron!” Zak screamed as he and Nick ran to the older man’s side just as he was about to go over. They pulled him back, letting him fall to the floor of the deck with a loud thud.  
Aaron sobbed loudly into his hands as Zak and Nick held him tightly between them. They too began to cry softly, wishing they had listened to their instincts in the first place and never gone through with the investigation.  
“It’s okay,” Zak said, “You’re safe. It’s okay.”  
“I almost killed myself.” Aaron whimpered into Zak’s chest.  
“But we didn’t let that happen. We love you, man.” Nick said.  
“And we always will. We’ll never let anything happen to you.”  
Aaron took a shaky breath, calming himself. He finally opened his eyes and saw Charlotte standing between Zak and Nick, blue dress and all. She smiled at him, as if she was saying “Thank you”, and faded away into the sour-sweet wind.  
The last thing they caught on the camera’s audio was a woman’s silky voice saying, “Good friends.”


End file.
